Weather is bad, the roads are slippery -- or "slippy" as they say back where I'm from -- and TV has settled in for a short winter's nap. For the next few weeks, original programming will pretty much vanish. Then comes January. Or as I've taken to calling it, Awesome TV Month.

Here's why: Damages comes back for its second season Jan. 7. 24's seventh season begins Jan. 11. Battlestar Galactica's final run starts on Jan. 16, with HBO unveiling new seasons of Big Love and Flight of the Conchords two days later. (Incidentally, the first episode of Conchords is up on Funny Or Die.) And of course, season five of Lost, premiering Jan. 21.

Meanwhile, I wanted to pass along two interesting pieces of writing. First up is Alan Sepinwall, who talks about what Jay Leno's new timeslot says about the future of network TV. James Ponwieziok in TIME responds to Sepinwall with an interesting essay of his own.